Es Cavallet’s El Chiringuito is an institution on the island - big, bustling, vibrant and funky. Real Ibiza. It has changed hands recently and whilst there are many new differences, the essence remains the same – real Ibiza.
We were shown to our table, which gave me the feeling of actually sitting in the sand dunes and ordered cava sangria whilst perusing the menu. The Mediterranean menu is extensive and has a more modern edge than its predecessor but still features some of the old favourites such as the calamares a la andaluza (deep fried battered squid), lobster rice, jamon de bellota and sardines. The choice is damned hard work ‘cos it all looks so good you want to try it all, clams, prawns, pastas, burgers, ceviches…
Once our order was taken a plate of crudities, (yes crudities!) arrived with a spiced yoghurt sauce and smoked aubergine dip. Very unusual to get an opener of raw vegetables (along with bread) and not at all unwelcome. The bread, from El Chiringuito’s own bakery, was excellent – firm but springy with that delicious ever-so-slightly sourness to it. Rocking.
I started with the seabass ceviche - good and zingy. The portion was big and looked good. Beneath the generous portion of thinly sliced raw fish and spiced sauce was an avocado cream that cooled it down and cut its acidity. The fish was beautifully fresh. My accomplice had the Almejas Spinalet – clams in a spiced tomato and parsley sauce. The dish was nice but the clams had been a little overcooked.
Now it was my accomplice’s turn to try the seabass but this time as a main course. Two very good pieces of fillet (definitely a plate that could be shared) done to a turn on the plancha with a fantastic trinxat, which is a Catalan olive oil mash with black olives. Very good. That the chef Martin Ponce was trained in Catalunya was obvious to me throughout the menu. The Catalans have some weird mixes in their cuisine and when I spotted salt cod with honey I was sorely tempted to order it but no, BEEF was calling. Shouting in fact. Wagyu fillet.
Way is the beef that has spent its life with a VIP pass to the best masseuses, has marbling that Michelangelo would have been envious of and tastes unbelievably buttery. This is a Very. Special. Beef. The simply and lightly boiled broccoli that came with it was just what the beef needed to let it shine. Glisten in fact.
We got chatting to our neighbours, a couple from Mallorca. They had arrived 4 days previously and had lunch there each day since. Didn’t they want to try somewhere else? ‘Why bother when this is so good?’ was their reply.
Date we ate: 8 July, 2009
The meal came to €134.50 including coffee with mini financiers (not midgets in bowler hats but an assortment of deliciously light sponges) plus apricot cheesecake with pistachios.
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